Introduction:

 Well hello again. Today we have here the second part of VH’s total Xbox modification guide. This part is focused on the technical hardware mods of the Xbox. Enough with the chit-chat lets dive right into the modding.

When ever I mod things I always try to get the hardest part over with first, and that’s what we shall do here in this guide. While I was modding my Xbox I was trying to think of as many mods that I could do as possible. I thought my Xbox to USB adapter I had made sometime ago out of a controller cord to be a bit crude and I though long and hard on a better way to do it. That’s what I stumbled upon the front USB mounts for my Lian-Li I used to have. While granted most of you won’t have one of these lying around, it will still give you the basics on how to wire an USB adapter internally. If your one of the lucky few to have one laying around, well then you got your self a really nice looking USB port coming up.

Now you might ask, “Why would you want to have USB ports on your Xbox?” Well a few reasons actually. One reason is if your Xbox has USB ports you can use a USB thumb drive as a memory card. I have a 128mb card that I use frequently to mod Xbox’s. Also if you plan on using Linux on your Xbox USB is almost necessary for keyboard and mouse functions.

Now, on to the modding: Here is what the USB connector looks like originally. It has 4 USB ports and a plug coming straight out the back to be plugged in directly into the motherboard of a PC.

What I really liked about this USB idea is it has 4 USB ports, one for each controller port, which is what they will get hooked up to internally. Also test fitting on where I thought it would go good it looked like it would a perfect fit for right below the 3rd and 4th controller ports.

Test fit

Mounting it is pretty straight forward enough. The only Dremeling needed is for the pins on the back for the USB connector to attach. Then while holding the bracket in place drill a small hole on each side in the screw hole on the bracket and screw it all in. Of course before actually installing it I primered and painted the bracket to match the rest of the case.

As you can tell the end result is very nice and flush. It looks almost stock and definitely the nicest USB mod to an Xbox that I’ve seen to date.